Close Call
by StrongerWithThePack
Summary: International Rescue are called out for a routine rescue, but nothing ever goes to plan when the Tracy boys are involved.


_Wow look at that new fandom already, I've had a lot of inspiration for the Thunderbirds lately so I'm probably going to be sticking with it for a while. This is my first Thunderbirds fic anyway so feedback would be much appreciated._

 _I'm not a medical professional so just turn a blind eye to anything you don't think is medically accurate because it probably isn't._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters_

...

Gordon ran a hand through his soaking wet hair in attempt to stop the water dripping into his eyes. The torrential rain was thundering on the deck of the large fishing boat which was rocking uncontrollably in the monstrous waves. The engines had failed shortly after the storm began and by the time International Rescue arrived the boat was already taking on water.

Gordon looked over to where his oldest brother was talking to the Russian crew captain. Scott had quickly shifted into the role of field commander the second they had arrived at the scene. It was a time sensitive operation and they had to work fast.

Alan was lingering by Scott's side waiting for instruction on how to proceed. Shielding his eyes from the rain and looking up, Gordon could see Thunderbird two, swaying with the force of the wind and rain, attempting to hover above them with Virgil at the controls. The rescue platform sat on the deck waiting to evacuate the fishermen.

There hadn't been a rescue in a couple of days and the four earthbound Tracy boys had been eager to get out of the house. So here they all were, getting drenched in the rain, carrying out a routine rescue.

Gordon walked over to where he could see Scott finishing his conversation, being careful not to slip on the wet deck. International Rescue were a professional organisation and Gordon was determined not to end up on his backside.

Scott turned to face his younger brothers, and had to raise his voice to be heard over the storm, "Right, so the boat hit some rocks earlier, after the engines cut out, which caused a breach in the bottom of the boat. Its letting on water so we need to be quick."

Scott looked around surveying his surroundings. "We're going to have to make two trips, there are fourteen fishermen aboard. Some of the men were injured during the rock collision, nothing serious but we're going to get them off first." He turned to Gordon "You handle the first lot Gordon, they're ready and waiting over there" He pointed over to a group of men and Gordon could see some of them grimacing in pain.

Gordon nodded "FAB, Scott"

Scott turned his attention to Alan as Gordon headed towards the men "When the platform comes back down I want you to be ready with the second group" Scott gestured towards the men waiting behind him "Check and make sure they're all alright and keep them calm until we can get them off this thing. The captain informed me majority of them speak at least some English"

"Will do, Scott" Alan assured, moving towards the men.

With his younger brothers busy, Scott brought up his wrist to talk to Virgil. "Thunderbird 2, come in"

Virgil appeared "Receiving you Scott, go ahead"

"Gordon's sending the first group up to you now, some of them may need medical attention as well"

"FAB Scott, I'm ready for them"

Scott nodded to his brother and signed off, before keying in on the raised voices he could hear. Turning towards the commotion he saw Alan facing down a large man who did not look happy in the slightest. As Scott jogged over to the commotion he heard the end of the mans furious rant. "...I mean Jesus Christ, I'm not going to have a kid telling me what to do"

Alan had his hands up in a non threatening manor in an attempt to calm the advancing man down. Scott quickly stepped in before the man tried anything physical.

Angrily he shouted over the rain "Hey! Calm down. If you didn't notice this 'kid' is saving your life."

The man just scoffed at Scott but backed down anyway, mumbling to himself about how the world had gone crazy, employing children to do a mans job.

Scott turned to Alan who looked a little shaken, "You okay?"

Alan refocused "Yeah, guys just an asshole. Not like we haven't dealt with that before"

Scott smiled and ruffled his brothers hair, laughing when Alan immediately tried to fix it, despite the fact it was sodden with rain. "We're almost done" He looked up, squinting through the rain, to see the swinging platform make its way back down onto the deck "There's Gordon coming back down lets get these men ready to go"

As Scott checked in with Virgil, Alan started leading the men towards the now grounded rescue platform. He sighed when the man from earlier, sat on a stack of crates, making no attempt to move.

"Sir, could you make your way over to the platform"

The man looked up and gave him a look of utter rage "I'll go when I'm ready, boy!"

Alan was slightly taken back not understanding the idiocy of the man "The boat is sinking, we need to go _now_ "

The man rose "What did I tell you about giving me orders!"

At that moment a flash of lightning appeared in the sky, illuminating the destroyed boat. Alan was tired of the mans stubborn incompetence and yelled "We don't have time for this!" He moved to take the mans arm to guide him towards the platform but the mans hostility just increased.

"GET OFF OF ME!" He rammed his shoulder straight into Alan chest. Alan lost his balance under the mans strength and was sent sprawling towards the edge as he tried to grab onto something.

He slammed into the rusty railing which gave way under his weight, sending him over the edge and into the black, treacherous waters below.

"ALAN!"

Scott was already running full pelt over to the edge, Gordon not far behind him. The angry man had retreated into himself in shock, he plonked back down onto the crates in silence.

Scott leaned over the edge, looking for any sign of his little brother and saw nothing in the choppy waters below. He was getting ready to jump over himself when another voice sounded "WAIT!" he turned to see Gordon had reached him.

Gordon spoke rapidly "I'll go. Get the rest of the men onto two then find some rope."

With that said, Gordon dove off the edge of the boat. Scott, still panicking, took a deep breath. He needed to stay focused, as much as he wanted to help his little brother, Gordon was better for the job. He needed to finish his own first.

Glaring at the man who'd pushed Alan, he grabbed him by the back of his neck, forcing him over to the rescue platform. His rage was at record levels and he didn't trust himself to say anything without throwing the man overboard himself.

He had just sent the platform up to into Thunderbird two when his watch beeped. John appeared though it. "Scott, what's going on down there? Gordon and Alan's body temperatures have dropped dangerously low."

Worry panged in Scott's chest as he made his way back over to the edge "Get Virgil on the line as well"

John didn't look too happy about being put off but quickly had Virgil patched through for a three way conversation.

Virgil looked confused "What's going on?"

Scott was looking out onto the waters and was not reassured when he couldn't see any sign of either of his brothers "Alan's gone overboard and Gordon jumped in to get him, but I can't see either of them anymore" Scott thought if he kept it short and tried to keep the panic out of his voice then it would reassure his brothers, evidently not.

"What!?" Virgil exclaimed.

"Okay, I know, it's bad. I need to find some rope to pull them up with" Scott admitted letting his worry show through.

"I think you'll need more than that Scott" John's quiet voice came across the link.

Scott grimaced "What do you mean John?

John warned "Those waters are freezing Scott. Both of their body temperatures are verging on hypothermia, no matter how good a swimmer Gordon is, he's not going to be able to tie a rope around them. It's just too cold Scott."

Scott's heart hammered against his chest. At least they were still alive, John would know if they weren't. He could see the distraught faces of his brothers through their holograms and new they were waiting for him to come up with a plan to save their little brothers. That's when he saw two blond heads breaking the surface of the water not too far from the boat. He leapt into action.

"Virgil, send down the rescue platform again. Let's go save our little brothers."

...

Gordon hit the icy cold water, spluttering as he tried to stay afloat above the massive waves. "ALAN!"

He couldn't see his brother anywhere in the darkness of the night. Gordon hoped Alan had been able to keep himself above water as he circled around trying to see over the waves and boat debris that kept his field of vision limited. If Alan had gone under there was no chance of finding him, he would of sunk and been dragged away by a current.

Gordon started panicking, he couldn't see any sign of his only little brother. His limbs were starting to feel numb with the cold and his breathing was becoming difficult. Then he saw a glimpse of something slightly to his left and started powering in that direction. As he neared he saw the mop of his little brothers blond hair, Alan was slumped across what looked like a board of wood from the boat.

"ALAN!" he tried calling again. When his brother failed to move he doubled his speed using all the swimming training he'd ever had in order to reach him faster.

Just as he was nearing, Alan slipped off the edge of the board and into the murky water. "NO!" Gordon dove under the water, desperately trying to reach for his brother.

He couldn't feel anything and forced his eyes open in the salty water, despite not being able to see well he could make out the outline of his brother just in front of him. Eyes stinging and lungs burning he reached his brother and would have sighed in relief, if he'd had any air left to do so.

Grabbing Alan under the arms Gordon made his way to the surface. He broke out gasping and spluttering, making sure the keep Alan's head above water. Now Gordon could see him properly he noticed a large gash on his brothers forehead, blood was running down his face. He quickly checked Alan pulse and was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief feeling it beating lightly, it may have been weak but it was definitely there.

Adrenaline gone, Gordon's vision blurred slightly, he barely had the strength to keep them above the water. He looked around but was disorientated and couldn't see any sign of the boat. It didn't matter though, he doubted he would have been able to swim to it anyway.

His strokes were slowing and he kept swallowing water as the waves continued their tireless attempt to drown them.

Gordon looked at his little brothers face, Alan's eyes were still closed and Gordon couldn't help but notice how young his brother appeared. His vision was blackening.

He whispered into Alan's ear "I'm sorry sprout"

Gordon was ready to sink into the water when he heard it.

"GORDON! ALAN!"

Gordon could hear Scott but looking around briefly there was no sign of him. He kept kicking his legs though with new found hope that help was coming. It felt like hours but eventually Scott was on front of him, trying to pull Alan from the death grip Gordon had on him.

"Hey Gords, It's ok I've got him. You can let go."

When he was no longer holding Alan's weight, Gordon stopped kicking. Alan was safe now, that was all that mattered.

His head slipped underwater and as the blackness consumed him something grabbed his forearm.

...

Scott had just laid Alan onto the platform when he turned back to the water. His heart leapt in his chest when there was no sign of Gordon. He lay on his stomach leaning over the platform, arms outstretched in search of his brother. He found nothing and slipped over the edge fully submerging himself in the water.

His breathing faltered when he first hit the freezing water. He managed to take a large gasp of air before diving below. Gordon had been here only a few seconds ago. He has to still be near.

Feeling around Scott was relieved when he brushed against something and identified it as his brother. Using the same technique as Gordon had earlier, he grabbed his brother under the arms and kicked furiously towards the surface. He may not have been an Olympic swimmer like Gordon but when one of his brothers need help, nothing could stop him. Breaking the surface he gasped in a lung full of air and luckily found himself right in front of the rescue platform. He heaved Gordon onto it with great effort before manoeuvring himself up too.

Feeling like all the strength had been seeped out of him he crawled over to Gordon, only to gain as surge of adrenaline.

Gordon wasn't breathing.

He quickly shouted to Virgil, "Bring up the platform" before starting chest compressions. He did 30 compressions before pinching Gordon's nose and giving him two rescue breaths. With no change he started chest compressions again. All the brothers had CPR drilled into them for International Rescue but it was entirely different when it was your own brothers life at stake.

"Come on, squirt" Scott pleaded "Don't give up on us now" His voice cracked at the end. Gordon was sheet white, his lip tinged blue and Alan was lying not far away blood still oozing from his head wound. Scott felt useless as he was doing nothing for either of them. The platform entered two as Scott became frantic with desperation.

"Dammit Gordon!" He balled his fists and slammed down on his chest "BREATHE"

And he did.

Gordon rolled onto his side coughing up the water from his lungs and Scott almost cried with relief, while patting him on the back.

"Get it all out Gordo, you're all right"

He could see Virgil to his left checking on Alan and met his eye, his brother nodded in reassurance as he cleaned the cut on Alan's head. Scott sighed with relief as he relaxed a little now that his brothers weren't in any immanent danger.

Gordon succumbed to unconscious again and Scott placed him in the recovery position, before flopping down next to him, utterly exhausted.

Virgil suddenly appeared above him "Scott. You can't rest yet. I still need you're help. Gordon and Alan...and you for a matter of fact are still dangerously cold. Get out of your wet clothes okay?"

Scott nodded tiredly and Virgil moved to get Gordon out of his clothes. Scott could see Alan was already out of his and wrapped in an emergency blanket.

When he finally had an emergency blanket around himself, his awareness improved slightly. He gave a shaky laugh and through chattering teeth remarked "God, that w-water was l-like ice"

Virgil, while applying heat pads to Gordon's neck and chest looked up and smiled "I'll take your word for it"

He stood and approached Scott, worry still showing on his face.

Scott knew what was coming and stepped back slightly "Virg, c-come on, I'm _fine_ "

"I'll be the judge of that." He pointed to the chair behind Scott "Sit."

Scott knew Virgil wouldn't stop until he was sure everything was fine and so obeyed his little brothers command.

Virgil flashed his pen light into Scott's eyes and gave a satisfied nod "Pupils are equal and reactive to light" He looked Scott up and down "The shivering is a good sign that you're warming up but I want you to lay down with some heat pads until your body temperature returns to normal."

Scott sighed "Virg, I don't need to lie d-down, I'm alright" he attempted to stand up until a hand rested on his shoulder.

Virgil was looking at him with such sadness Scott sat down again "Please Scott, don't argue. _I_ need you to lie down" His voice was no more than a whisper and it hit Scott how close they had come to losing their lives today.

Scott agreed "Okay. I'm sorry. I will."

Virgil nodded in thanks and did one more check of Gordon and Alan's vitals before moving back to the cockpit. He'd escorted the fishermen to the pod earlier on in order to keep them out of the way, he set a course for the nearest hospital to drop them off and switched the controls to autopilot.

He knew he had come awfully close to losing two if not three of his brothers today. When Scott hadn't checked in after he reached them, Virgil was thinking the worst. Then his panicked scream over the comms only further fuelled his worry. He had raced to the rescue platform, seeing it come up. Scott was frantic, Virgil always thought of Scott as being his calm and collected older brother but seeing him so unravelled had really shaken him up.

Then when he realised the source of Scott's panic, his heart skipped a beat, luckily it was only a brief moment of devastation. Gordon started to breathe again but just knowing that it had been that close hit him hard. This was suppose to be a simple, easy rescue. How could it have all gone so wrong?

He had quickly averted his attention to Alan, who was motionless and bleeding. He grabbed some bandages before cleaning out the head wound. It wasn't as deep as it first appeared to be, head wounds were just notorious for bleeding heavily so, hopefully, he would be fine. They would have to watch him closely for a while in case of any complications.

Resting his head on the control panel he thought and then there was Scott. Stupid, stubborn Scott who had come up freezing, mid panic attack and completely out of it. Virgil had been worried about him going into cardiac arrest. His brothers were going to be the death of him.

They dropped the fishermen off at the hospital and made their back to Tracy Island.

Virgil felt a pang of guilt as John's voice came through his console "Thunderbird five to Thunderbird two, come in"

John had been left in the dark about the situation so far "Thunderbird two here, Sorry John, the situation is under control we're heading back to base"

Virgil heard John let out a breath of relief "Good to hear, is everyone alright?"

Virgil bit the inside of his cheek wondering whether on not to tell John how severe the accident had been but his decision was made for him when John picked up on the moment of silence.

"What is it Virgil? I need to know what's happening down there." Panic was evident in John's voice as the many possibilities ran through his head. He spoke slowly "Is. Everyone. Alright?"

Virgil was quick to reassure "Yes John don't worry, everyone's alive but it was really close and I'm still looking out for complications"

John sucked in a breath through gritted teeth "I want you to tell me everything Virgil, I _need_ you to tell me everything"

And Virgil did. He knew John hated being out of the loop stuck four hundred thousands miles away from where his brothers were risking their lives daily. He wasn't going to get peace of mind until he knew every tiny detail of what had happened. If Virgil was completely honest, it felt good to talk through the events with someone, to have someone to share his concern with. John had always been a good listener.

Virgil finished his account as they approached the island. John felt like a weight had been lifted now he new the full story.

"Thanks Virgil"

"Anytime"

...

Gordon drifted towards awareness, there was a familiar voice murmuring next to him, a hand running through his hair. Where was he? He tried open his eyes but it was blindingly bright and he scrunched them shut. He must be in the infirmary.

"Come on squirt, open you eyes"

That was Scott. As he came back to reality he was conscious of an aching pain stretched all across his body. What had happened to him?

Then it all came flooding back. The boat...the storm...the water...Alan! He shot upright as full realisation hit, his head pounded from the movement and his vision blackened but he didn't care.

He rasped with a croaky voice "Alan! Where's Alan?"

Scott was rubbing his back "Hey kiddo, it's alright. Alan's fine. He's here."

Gordon looked at the bed across from his and saw Alan sitting up looking at him with worried eyes, he looked a little worse for wear, with his bandaged head and pale skin but otherwise alright. Alan smiled weakly at Gordon "I'm told I can thank you for that"

Gordon sighed a breathe of relief and lay back down as Scott pushed gently on his shoulder. He gave Alan another once over "Are you alright?"

"Better than you, that's for sure" Alan attempted to laugh before his smile fell "I'm sorry you had to save me"

Gordon let Scott adjust his bed so he was sitting upright "Come on kiddo, you know it wasn't your fault"

"Yeah I know but still, you almost drowned"

Gordon joked "Well you would have definitely drowned had I not jumped in and besides you know Scott would never let that happen"

Scott grimaced at this comment. His brothers always had such blind faith in him but he came very close to failing one of them today.

Gordon looked up to him "I'm guessing you pulled me out?"

When Scott failed to answer Virgil spoke up while using his penlight to check Gordon's pupils "Yes. And also restarted your heart while breathing for you."

Gordon pushed the light away from him "What?"

Scott sighed "You went under Gordo, I couldn't get to you quickly enough and by the time I pulled you out you had stopped breathing."

Scott shivered involuntary at the memory, Gordon shrunk back into the bed and whispered "That close, huh?"

Everyone remained silent, reliving the harrowing events as an air of unnerve settled across the room.

Alan eventually broke the eerie silence "You know Gords, no matter how much you want to, you are never going to grow gills, so I think you should stop the experiments. It's not good for old Scotty's heart"

Everyone laughed at this comment as the tension slowly faded.

The brothers knew they had come close to losing some of their own today but it was a risk they faced everyday in their job. They were all still here and they couldn't let the horrors of the past interfere with their lives. The claxon sounded then and John popped up the vid screen "Sorry guys but this is a big one and they really need our help."

Scott stood "FAB John, we're ready" he turned to Virgil "Are they going to be alright without you here?" gesturing to his youngest brothers.

Ignoring the protests of being fine from them Virgil nodded "They're both stable, I'll get Brains up here with them just in case"

Scott now reassured, made to leave the room.

Virgil while quickly jotting a few details down on Gordon's file for Brains called after him "Hey! Wait a minute Scott. You've not been cleared for duty either."

Scott increased his speed at his brothers comment and Virgil started after him before halting at the doors and turning back to his youngest brothers "You two don't even think about getting up" he stated sternly.

Gordon feigned annoyance and stated in mock innocence "As if we would even think of doing such a thing."

Virgil narrowed his eyes at them grumbling "Stay. Put."

As he strode from the room calling after Scott, the two blondes looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

Alan chuckled "I think he's fighting a losing battle at the moment"

"Scott'll be in the air before he even reaches the living room" Gordon smirked

The two trouble makers continued to laugh as they heard thunderbird one lift off. Despite both boys being exhausted they continued to talk needing a distraction to get through the shock of the day. So they plotted for the week ahead, after all being bed ridden, they needed to do something to entertain themselves.

This was not going to be a good week for the Tracy family.

But at least the family was whole.

 _The End_


End file.
